It has just been one of those years, I should be wanting like ten video games right about now and going past the store shelves is a reminder that the economy really is in the dumpster and no one is taking chances on developing new products even in video gaming which are supposed to not be effected by such things. Oh well, there is at least one game I really liked this year that I think avid readers would be interested in. So let’s list out a couple of options first and then take on the good stuff.
PS3
For the PS3 only crowd I have Katamari Forever and Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack In Time both of which are the next chapter in long running series which I have played almost every version of. The problem here is that I can remember having much more fun playing some of the earlier entries so for me these are not new or different although these are still very decent games and should be tired out at least in a rental for any serious gamer on the PS3 and they definitely are worth picking up for “younger kids” since they are also “NOT ADULT” in subject matter.
Wii
For the Wii only crowd I have only two “new” games I can talk about here Metroid Prime: Trilogy and New Super Mario Bros. which you all most likely have seen some random version of before since they are both THE staple series in Nintendo’s ongoing “ancient games for toddlers” lineup. In fact Metroid Prime: Trilogy just repackages the last game with the two older games that simply have controller updates for the Wii-mote. Yawn, No Okami this year or No More Heroes to tell you about this time around sorry. I guess Nintendo forgot to order anything new for the adults. ZZZZZZZZZZ
XBox/PS3
Finally! Something new and different, WELL OK at least new… Borderlands which is a First Person Sci-fi Shooter/RPG so you have all these guns you find and shields you find and people you find who immediately start shooting at your ass and that you have to kill in order to level up so you can find even more powerful guns and shields to collect and sell or figure out what works best so you can kill even bigger and badder people who are all going to be shooting at your ass later in the game. Can you tell this is simply not the type of game I tend to like?
Good, because Shooters are low on my list of all time favorite games. The facts are despite all that annoying juggling of weapons and shields to figure out what works best and all the repetitive killing and the constant treasure crawls that got tiring. I actually liked the way the game played and looked, I liked the humor built into the game and I liked that I could pick it up anytime I wanted and get right back into it without having to figure out what the next mission was very often or where I left off the night before. So the game is very well made and if anyone you know might like a funny Sci-fi Shooter that also has RPG elements and likes guns and a bit of funny gore definitely grab this one for a gift. I am not the easiest person to convince to like any shooter for the usual reasons but this one honestly worked for me and it’s available for both PS3 and XBox.
XBox/PS3
Last but not least my favorite and probably the most INTENSE game I have played all the way through this year even if it came out late 2008! Bioshock
Yet another First Person Shooter/RPG with yet another Sci-fi twist. This game is set in an alternate 1960 and you are Jack… Um that’s about the only thing you really know about yourself. Your plane mysteriously crashes and you wind up in an Art Deco city called Rapture at the bottom of the ocean. First, let me say this game is absolutely gorgeous with it’s Art Deco motifs and the underwater setting. The kicker you will come to find out is the whole story line was inspired by Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged and Fountainhead. In fact there is this system in the game based on the moral choices your character makes and those choices get darker and darker as the game progresses. This game fucking bothered me playing it. I never wanted to quit (But I did feel like taking a shower.) because I was spurred on to see the story progress but the underlying facts are that NO ONE in this game including you (eventually) is even remotely human. Everyone you meet has these big plans and bigger aspirations and huge cut throat methods and they don’t care who they hurt getting to the top. I played both the “Good” game and then, because I like pain, I went back and played the “Bad” game and wow it’s not nice any way you play it. So if you want something with a little more teeth to it than your typical shoot em up OR if your ever wondered what an Ayn Rand inspired game might be like… Oh yeah, here you go with my top video game choice for a very blah year.
A game from 2008. *sigh*
PS… If you know someone getting a PS3 or XBox this year be sure to add a copy of The Orange Box to your cart. Portal is a demonic puzzle game that anyone can love on both XBox and PS3 so enjoy.
The Cake Is A Lie!
Tags: Video Games
Lbea wrote,
I’m very interested in The Orange Box for G…and I just purchased Assassin’s Creed II for his birthday. When he’s home–he’s locked in. Must be a good game???
(MMmm… Caek.)
Link | December 6th, 2009 at 9:01 am
TeddyPig wrote,
I heard Assassin Creed 2 was better than the first one. But that first one bored me to tears honestly and so I did not go right out and buy the new one. Portal is a great game and The Orange Box is actually a good deal for all the games it comes with.
Link | December 6th, 2009 at 9:09 am
erastes wrote,
Assassin’s Creed 2 is outstanding. Sadly my PS3 has just died the death of the Yellow Light of Doom and has swallowed the game and I am mourning. Serves me bloody right for buying second hand.
The makers have dealt with the repetitive nature of the first game, and has a story line which can follow slavishly or just wander around, explore and do random stuff. It has so many things to do (and not in any order) that it will keep completists happy for months. (and there’s only one “collection” job which is feathers, and the reason for that is so bloody poignant that I am making a point of collecting them all if i can, and I never bother about collecting stuff.) No more beggars (minstrels now which are hilarious and there are at least four ways of scaring them away) and the crowd isn’t just wandering around zombie fashion, they are mostly doing stuff. Oh -and Leonardo da Vinci – who is rather touchy feely which makes me smile.
Bioshock (although I’m not a fan of FPS either) sounds interesting – I can put up with the shooting if it has a deep and absorbing storyline, and it’s good to see more and more game makers bothering about STORY and not just blam.
Link | December 6th, 2009 at 9:24 am
TeddyPig wrote,
Erastes that’s why I chose it as a real winner this year.
Bioshock has a intelligent story of the real consequences of extreme fanaticism underneath and even though it does have it’s shocking moments the pay off from playing the game is that the dang thing stays with you and makes you think about what it has to say.
Link | December 6th, 2009 at 9:54 am
Ally Blue wrote,
My boy-child has the Orange Box thingy. He’s played Half Life 2 several times already. Those head crab things freak me the fuck out O_O I like Portals though. So does he :) Very cool little game.
We got him Assassin’s Creed II for Christmas. I think he is going to enjoy the lack of beggars. He keeps killing the ones in AC I and I’m pretty sure he’s not supposed to do that o_O
Link | December 6th, 2009 at 11:28 am
erastes wrote,
LOL!! The minstrels are just as annoying – There’s nothing more irritating than a “hey nonny nonny” when you are trying to concentrate – and sometimes you get four at once. It’s very tempting not to stab them – specially now you have double wrist knives – I’ve found just getting my sword out makes them run away, and doesn’t alert the guards – but there are at least three other ways of dealing with ‘em which I think he will have fun finding out.
:)
Link | December 6th, 2009 at 12:29 pm
Ally Blue wrote,
Oh man, I can just see my assassin-boy now, killing minstrals. Oy. LOL.
He was most excited about wrist knives. I had to watch him use those many, many times before he got tired of showing me *g* Doubles are gonna blow his mind!
Link | December 6th, 2009 at 3:24 pm
Bev(QB) wrote,
Crap, my almost-14-year-old son has Borderlands on his Christmas list. I was all set to just ignore it because I really hate buying him violent games (so instead he rents them from the Gamefly membership I bought him last year. *rolls eyes* Yeah, that’s so much better.) But now you had to go and tell me that it isn’t quite like other kill-em-all games. *sigh* I’ll probably cave and buy it for him now.
Damn you, TeddyPig, damn you.
Link | December 9th, 2009 at 12:52 pm
TeddyPig wrote,
Hey Bev!
Borderlands is gory but also funny at times so it comes across more cartoony to me.
Link | December 9th, 2009 at 1:35 pm
Bioshock 2: Feel The Ayn | The Naughty Bits wrote,
[...] I told you guys before this game is based off of Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged and Fountainhead. So don’t go into the [...]
Link | February 15th, 2010 at 4:57 pm
Bioshock 2 | The Naughty Bits wrote,
[...] am going to give this sequel higher marks than The First One. The story felt just more straight forward and the end was not this huge boss fight but a more of a [...]
Link | February 21st, 2010 at 9:41 pm
TeddyPig’s Holiday Video Game Guide 2011 | The Naughty Bits wrote,
[...] the original version of this game was a throw away they slapped into The Orange Box with Half-Life 2 and it took off. In fact it took over and became the runaway cult hit. Portal 2 simply fixed any of [...]
Link | November 13th, 2011 at 9:51 am